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Wednesday, Dec 19, 2007
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Lawson to continue: PCB

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board has said it was not contemplating sacking coach Geoff Lawson but it does want the Australian to lay emphasis on making the team “mentally tough and more focussed.”

A senior PCB official said the Board trusted the abilities of the national coach.

“Like captain Shoaib Malik, we have full confidence in the abilities of Lawson and there are no plans to change the coach. But after every tour a post-mortem is necessary and obviously, like everyone else, the performances of the coach have to be reviewed,” the official told PTI.

Lawson came in for criticism from PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf, who held the coach responsible for the Pakistan team’s recent ODI and Test series defeats to arch-rival India.

Mentally tough

However, the Board official said it would be foolish to change a coach on the basis of just performances in just two series.

“But yes we expect Lawson to make the players mentally tougher and stronger on the field and more focused. Aspects which we found missing on the Indian tour,” he said.

The official added that Asraf would have talks with Lawson, after his return from vacations, next month to have his feedback on the recent series debacle against South Africa and India.

“We would like (to have) his feedback and see what the areas for improvement are. We also want to know from Lawson his future plans for the team.”

Lawson has refused to comment on the Indian tour but sources close to him say he was unhappy over the inconsistency of the players.

Lawson has also come in for criticism from former Pakistani captains Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, who said he had not played any constructive role as yet. — PTI

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